No irregularity found in Bihar polls: Govt says citing EC

New Delhi, Dec 5 (PTI) No irregularities were found in the conduct of assembly elections in Bihar, the government told Lok Sabha on Friday citing the Election Commission.

In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said no re-poll was requested by any of the contesting candidates or their agents.

Mandatory verification of voter verifiable paper audit trails unit (VVPAT) slips was held for five randomly-selected polling stations per assembly constituency and no discrepancy was found with the electronic voting machine (EVM) count anywhere.

Also, no application for checking and verification of EVMs was received from any of the losing candidates after declaration of the results on November 14.

The Election Commission has informed, Meghwal said, that with regard to VVPAT slips in Samastipur, the chief electoral officer of Bihar has reported that some shredded and some unshredded VVPAT slips related to Sarairanjan seat were found discarded in the garbage on November 08.

These were related with mock poll conducted during EVM commissioning. The three assistant returning officers concerned of Sarairanjan constituency deputed for commissioning were suspended immediately and disciplinary proceedings initiated.

"However, no such incident came to the notice of the Election Commission in Saran district," the minister said responding to a question. PTI NAB ZMN